1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automated system and method for providing location-based concierge services to end users communicating over network devices, such as telephones and wireless devices, and utilizing third party network location-based service applications, such as Internet/Web locators.
2. Related Art
The term concierge has evolved from its originally somewhat specific meanings such as a hotel staff member who handles luggage, reservations and tours, etc., to refer more generally to the provision of personalized services. Many concierge services are location-based, such as identifying nearby restaurants or attractions, or providing local maps or directions.
The Internet and World Wide Web (“Web”) have helped spur the evolution in concierge services by providing mechanisms to facilitate and automate a variety of services. The Internet and Web have also helped to spur innovation in location-based services (LBS) such as store locators, including the ability to generate maps and turn-by-turn directions. This in turn prompted the development of third party network LBS applications such as Internet/Web locators for users communicating over network devices such as telephones and wireless devices.
Relatively recent “911” legislation requires wireless carriers in the United States to be able to determine the current location of a wireless device. This typically is done via a Global Positioning System (“GPS”) chip and receiver in the wireless device and/or via network triangulation. These methods can provide a fairly precise latitude and longitude estimate of the wireless device's current location. There can be privacy concerns related to providing the telephone number and the precise coordinate location of a mobile phone to an entity outside the mobile phone network for uses other than emergency 911 services.
Multi-location businesses such as, for example, Pizza Hut®, Domino's® Pizza, Starbucks®, Automated Teller Machines (“ATM”s), Federal Express (“FedEx”), and United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”), commonly provide locator systems for identifying nearby locations via company websites. Also online Yellow Pages® from major telephone companies and many independent Yellow Pages® publishers are available from a variety of websites that generally accept location identifiers such as a ZIP code or other postal code, street address and/or street intersection as a proxy for the user's current location or starting point of interest. In some cases, such as Federal Express, a user can provide a 10-digit telephone phone number as the location identifier, which the website will associate with a physical location.